General Secretary of the Prisons Officers Association, Lester Logie is calling for urgent legislative changes to allow prison officers to carry firearms while off duty, arguing that their role in safeguarding society does not end when their shift does.
00:00Prison Association General Secretary Lester Logie tells the TB6 Morning Edition that while prison officers are issued firearms, that protection ends the moment they leave the service, as those weapons must be returned.
00:15This, he says, leaves officers vulnerable in the public space.
00:20Logie notes that the Commissioner of Police is processing applications for firearm users licenses, but points out that some prison officers have been waiting more than 10 years for approvals, a delay the association finds deeply troubling.
00:36We are concerned that the FUL, that process, is broken.
00:44And we have the view and of the opinion, and we recommended that all law enforcement, seeing that we are already in the Firearms Act, that an amendment is made to the Act to allow us,
01:00those who qualify because there is a process to get your FUL firearm users license.
01:07He says officers continue to live under threat and must be able to protect themselves.
01:14Logie recalls an incident in which a prison officer's home came under attack.
01:19We have several officers who have left and they had to give back their firearm, who were under threat.
01:27Just recently, we had an officer whose house was shut up.
01:32Unfortunately, he has retired.
01:34He doesn't have any protection.
01:38The association's general secretary acknowledges that while rogue officers do exist within the service,
01:45the association does not and will not represent them, as its constitution makes clear.
01:51He explains that many legitimate officers come under attack after conducting cell searches or disciplining inmates,
02:00which often fuels resentment.
02:02Adding that in some troubling cases, rogue officers have even aided inmates in carrying out attacks of retaliation against their own colleagues.
02:12And we would have gotten information. Unfortunately, information is not evidence.
02:18So we would have issues in the past where prisoners would have officers' vehicle number.
02:25They would have issues in the past where officers working at Building 13 would have given a senior prison officer their address and what have you.
02:37And it was found on an inside building 13 hit list.
02:42So, yes, we have rogue officers who contribute towards it.
02:47Logie also stresses, internationally, both senior and junior officers are searched when entering and exiting prison compounds.
02:57He tells TV6 similar security measures should be implemented in Trinidad and Tobago, noting that the current system falls short.
03:06According to Logie, several reforms are urgently needed to protect officers and safeguard both their lives and the smooth operation of the prison service.
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